


Twisted Tales

by Chaos_Dragoon



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Genre: Creepypasta, Fairy Tale Elements, Horror, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 11:22:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18248837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaos_Dragoon/pseuds/Chaos_Dragoon
Summary: a collection of Twisted fairy tales and other tales that come to my mind





	1. Crimson Red

At the edge of the woods lay a small village. In the village lived a small girl who wore a scarlet red hood. Thus, the villagers dubbed the little girl Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood or Little Red as the villagers called her was known to travel through the woods to her grandmother's house. She would bring her grandmother food, books, and medicine once a week. The villagers never once worried when Red would skip into the woods. They knew anyone who traveled through the woods would be safe. As long as they stuck to the path and didn't venture off it.

For three years Red ventured into the forest, only to return the next day with sweets, gifts, and other assortments of goodies. For three years Red never once felt afraid as she traveled through the woods. However, that all changed in the fourth year. A month into the New Year children started to go missing. In the first few weeks, three children went missing from the village. As the months went on that number increased until the large wooden billboard at the town hall was covered in missing posters in hopes any of the traveling merchants who visited the town would have seen any of the missing children.

From then on, Red was accompanied by one of the villagers when she took goods to her grandmother. Usually, a farmer would travel with her, a rifle in his hands with a pitchfork strapped to his back should he need it. The farmer or whoever went with Red would stay with her and her grandmother for the night before traveling back to the village. Those who went with Red tried to persuade her grandmother to leave the cottage and travel with them to the village where she'd be safe, but Red's grandmother refused to leave the home she was born in. At one point, the village's blacksmith went with Red to her grandmother's cottage. Once there, the blacksmith reinforced Red's grandmother's cottage. He placed larger locks on her doors and windows so she would be safe.

In the fourth month of that year, a large hunter came from the woods carrying a large object under his right arm while he carried a much smaller object under his left. The hunter was a regular in the town. He would travel from his cottage in the woods to the village to get supplies and trade goods for his hand carved wood statues. He walked towards the town hall and threw the carcass of the large black wolf he held under his right arm at the front steps. He then gently placed the mangled, torn body of a child on one of the steps.

"Found this beast eating him. I remembered his missing poster from the billboard," the Hunter had said. He was given a large reward and had a feast in his honor as they sat around the burning corpse of the large wolf. After that, life in the village went back to normal. Red was still accompanied to her grandmother's by one of the villagers for several more weeks until now, when she waited for her mother to let her travel the woods, alone.

Red rocked from her heels to her toes as she waited for her mother to prepare the basket. She let out a frustrated sigh as her mother triple checked the basket to make sure everything was there. She stopped rocking and whined, "Come on mom, you've checked that basket like five times now."

"Just making sure everything is here Alice," her mother said. While all the villagers called her Red or little Red. Her mother called her by her real name. Her mother took the basket and brought it to Red before she knelt down to eye level with her daughter and added, "Now remember Alice."

"Stick to the path," Red said in unison with her mother. She folded her arms in front of her and added, "Mom, I've been going through that forest for how many years. I know the rules."

"I'm just worried," her mother said.

"I'll be fine," Red said as she grabbed the basket and skipped to the door. She stopped and spun back to her mother and added,

"And my name is Red." She then turned and skipped towards the forest and towards Grandmother's house.

She slowly stopped skipping and began to walk along the forest path. Normally she skipped halfway down the path before finding a rock to sit and rest before skipping the rest of the way. However, she slowly walked down the path with the basket close to her chest. Normally the forest was buzzing with birds, insects, and other critters calling to one another, but today the forest was dead quiet. The only sound was the rustling of trees and creaking of bark in the wind, and her shoes crunching the dirt of the path. Red was about to run down the path when she stopped dead in her tracks. Standing on the path in front of her was a large black wolf. Its crimson eyes stared at her.

"What are you doing so far in these woods' child?" the wolf asked. Red looked at the wolf in shock.

"You can talk?" Red said in awe.

"Every living creature can talk, but we choose not to speak human," the wolf said. Its crimson eyes narrowed and it continued, "These woods are no longer safe for a little thing like you." Red's awe turned to fear as she swallowed hard and slowly backed away.

"Because of you?" Red asked.

"No, it's because of," the wolf began before a hatchet cut through the darkness of the forest and slammed into the ground in front of the wolf. The wolf jumped back and growled before it looked towards Red. It narrowed its eyes before it ran off the path and into the darkness of the forest. A twig snapped and Red tensed as she turned towards the noise. She relaxed when she saw the Hunter in his usual blue and black flannel shirt and brown slacks walk onto the path.

"Damn wolves have gotten more aggressive since I killed their Alpha," the Hunter said in his gravelly voice before he added, "Why are you traveling alone? Don't you usually travel with one of the villagers?" Red nodded.

"I use to, but a while after you brought us that massive wolf. Mom said it was safe to travel alone," Red said.

"These wolves are very crafty. They've waited until someone traveled alone to attack," the Hunter said before he walked over to his hatchet and ripped it from the ground. He placed it in its holder and added, "I'll take you to your grandmother's house."

"Thank you," Red said before they both went down the path to Red's grandmother's cottage. The wolf watched the two in the darkness of the forest. He let out a low growl as he glared at the Hunter before he turned and ran deeper into the forest.

Red resumed skipping happily down the path, knowing that the Hunter was with her. She would occasionally turn and skip backward to make sure the Hunter was still there. The Hunter was always a few feet away from Red, surveying the edge of the path. She'd smile, wave to him, and turned back around to continue skipping. She never saw how when she turned to him. He'd look away to look at the edges of the path, but when she turned forward and continued skipping. He'd look back at her and lick his lips.

By the time the sun was near the edge of the mountains to the west. Red and the Hunter reached her grandmother's cottage. Red bounded into the home and startled her grandmother who was knitting in her large easy chair. She placed her hand on her chest and exhaled, "my dear you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry grandma," Red said before she placed the large basket on the table next to her. Red's grandma looked towards the door to where the large Hunter stood.

"And who's this strapping young lad," her grandmother asked.

"This is the Hunter I told you about," Red said cheerily.

"Oh, so you're the man who made the path here safe again. Thank you so much, without you. I'd still fear my granddaughter traveling here from the village," Red's grandmother said before she turned to Red and added, "There's freshly made lemonade on the table in the kitchen for you and your friend."

"I'll get it for you," the Hunter said before he proceeded from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Thank you, dear, could you also pour me a glass of water while you're out there," Red's grandma said.

"Will do," the Hunter said from the kitchen. After a few seconds, the Hunter returned with a tray with two glasses of pink lemonade and a glass of water. The Hunter gave Red's grandmother the glass of water before giving Red one of the glasses of pink lemonade. He took the last glass and brought it to his lips as he silently drank. Red's grandmother sipped at her water while Red greedily chugged the pink lemonade.

"Slow down child. You'll give yourself a stomach ache," Red's grandmother said. Red placed the empty glass on the small stand next to her grandmother and smacked her lips.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Red said.

"Until the sugar rush dies down," the Hunter said before he took a few more gulps from his glass. Red's grandmother laughed before she drank more of her water. All the while, the Hunter never took his eyes off Red or her grandmother. He was like a hawk, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Oh, my. I think all this excitement is taking its toll," Red's grandmother said as she placed her glass of water on the table and sat back into her chair. Her eyelids were heavy and with one long breath. She was softly snoring in her lazy chair. Red was about to shake her grandmother awake when a wave of exhaustion hit her as she stumbled and then fell to the ground. Her eyelids felt heavy and she too fell into a deep sleep. The Hunter sipped at his pink lemonade and gulped loudly before a smile etched its way on his face.

Little Red groggily opened her eyes. Her head was pounding like her skull was going to pop. She went to stand, but when she tried to use her arms to push herself from the floor. She found they were bound behind her back. She then heard the crackling of flames and moved her head to see she was lying in front of a roaring fireplace. She followed the stone chimney up and her blood ran cold. Mounted on the wall like trophies, were human heads. A pit formed in her stomach as she recognized one of the heads belonged to one of the missing children. In fact, she found that all the heads mounted on the wall belonged to the missing children from her village.

"So you're finally awake," a voice said. Red swallowed hard as she slowly turned her head towards the voice. She began to hyperventilate as she stared up at the Hunter. He smiled and walked towards her. He walked past her and sat in a large chair near the fireplace. He sat forward and clasped his hands together and added, "You know I've had my eye on you." Red looked at him quizzically. A pounding headache caused her vision to pulse and be blurry at the edges.

"For a while, I watched as you walked the path to your grandmother's. I was going to make my move, but the next time I saw you. You were traveling with one of the villagers. I figured it was a simple coincidence. Then I saw you with another villager, and another, and another. So, the next time I went to the village. I found out why. The kids that went missing caused your dear mother to make you travel with a villager for safety. So I hunted the biggest wolf I could find and killed it. I brought it to the village and well, you know the rest," the Hunter explained. He got up and walked to the wall mounted with heads. He ran his hands over an empty plaque and continued, "I wanted to mount his head here, but knew I needed his mangled body to prove the wolf had killed him. However, now I can fill it with your head." He turned to Red and a wicked smile formed on his face.

"Why?" Red asked.

"Boredom really," the Hunter admitted before he continued, "I've lived in these woods since I was born. My father was a hunter and so was my mother. I've hunted in these woods my whole life. After a while, I got bored with hunting the local wildlife here. Then I found an intruder in my home. I chased him through the woods and finally caught up to him. The thrill of the chase, the fear, and the inevitable swing of my hatchet was invigorating. Nothing I'd ever felt when I hunted the animals in these woods." The Hunter walked over to a mounted head. This one was a much older man with a small cut over his right eye.

"He was my first of many, but after I hunted three more people. That thrill was gone. That was until I found a lost child in the woods. I silently stalked him for hours, that thrill came back with a vengeance and was replaced with pure ecstasy. Young fear is so tantalizingly good that I didn't know how to recreate it. That's when I knew what I needed to do: kidnap the children in the village and hunt them," the Hunter said before he walked over to Red. He grabbed the rope that bounded Red's arms. He lifted her up and stomped towards the front door.

"Where are you taking me, where's my grandmother!" Red cried as tears welled up in her eyes.

"You'll soon find out," the Hunter cooed. He opened the front door and planted Red on her feet. She felt cold steel between her wrists before she felt the bindings disappear. She moved her arms in front of her and rubbed the chafed skin around her wrists before she looked back at the Hunter. He was slowly closing the front door. He stopped and gave her a toothy grin before he uttered, "Run" before closing the door.

Red bolted away from the cottage and through the dark forest. Tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to find the path back to the village. The trees whipped past her as she raced through the forest not wanting to look back to see the Hunter behind her. She suddenly skidded to a halt as she stared at the large barbed wired fence. It towered over her standing sixteen feet tall. She was about to climb the fence when a voice barked, "Stop!" Red stopped and looked around before she looked forward and saw two crimson eyes staring at her from the darkness.

From the shadows, the wolf from before walked out and sat down on the other side of the fence. The wolf kicked a stone towards the fence and electricity sparked from the rocks contact. The wolf looked from the smoking rock to Red and added, "The fence is electrified. You touch it, you die. Keep running, stay alive. And watch your footing" The wolf then submerged back into the shadows.

Red looked through the fence into the darkness before she heard the Hunter far back behind her yell, "Where are you puppet?" she tensed and suddenly bolted away from the fence and tried to find a place to hide. She stopped once again, her foot hovering in mid-air. She held her breath as her foot hovered over a bear trap. If the wolf hadn't warned her: the teeth of the trap would chomp into her flesh and left her paralyzed for the Hunter to find. She slowly backed away before she felt something under her right foot. She looked down to see a large tree branch lying on the ground. She picked it up before she looked at the bear trap. She turned away from it and ran in the opposite direction. When she was a few feet away, she turned and threw the tree branch into the bear trap. She turned and heard a metal clang and a creaking coming from the bear trap.

Red heard the Hunter laugh, "Someone found my present." She bolted away from the bear trap and continued to watch for more traps. She saw glinting on either side of her as she ran. She saw a bear trap in front of her and leaped over it. She landed on the ground and felt it give way behind her. She waved her arms to try to balance herself before she fell forward to her knees. She was breathing heavily and let out a sigh of relief. She stood back up and looked back. Her eyes widened as her heart started to beat faster. The ground behind her had caved in to reveal a large hole. At the bottom of the hole were large wooden spikes that protruded out of the ground. She just stood there staring at the spikes before the Hunters yelling voice brought her back to the real world. She turned and ran now looking for not only bear traps but any indication the earth would give way."Little Red," the Hunter sang as he continued, "Come out, come out wherever you are. You can't hide forever." Red pushed her body to run faster as her lungs and legs burned and cried for her to stop. She slowed down and stopped before hunching over to catch her breath. That's when she saw it: a stone pathway. She looked to her left and saw the back door of the cottage. She cursed herself for running back to the cottage, but she looked to the right and saw the Stone pathway stretched into the darkness. She ran down the path away from the cottage and her heart skipped a beat. There, in the fence was a large door. If she could burst through it, she could escape and run home. She slammed her body into the door, but the surrounding fence stretched, recoiled, and finally bounced her back to the ground. She groaned as she sat up and looked at the door. She saw four large padlocks on the door. She willed her body back up and started to run along the fence, trying to find a way out.

She skidded to a stop as a hatchet flew from the darkness and slammed into the ground in front of her. She looked to where the hatchet had come from and her blood ran cold. She saw a large silhouette coming towards her. She turned and fled in the way she just came. Tears streamed down her face as she gave up keeping quiet and screamed, "HELP!" She ran past the door in the fence and continued to cry for help. She screamed so loud that her throat burned and her voice became hoarse. She continued to run and cry as she tried to call for help. Through blurry eyes, she saw a bear trap in front of her. She leaped over it but didn't see the second bear trap a few inches next to the first. She cleared the two traps, but part of her long red coat fell on the bear trap. It snapped shut and Red let out a wheezing gasp as her legs were taken from under her and she slammed into the ground. She gasped for air several times before she began to try to remove her red hood.

"Well isn't this a shame," the Hunter said. Red stopped, not wanting to move or even breathe. She heard footsteps to her left get closer to her. Her eyes welled up with more tears as she knew there was nothing she could do. Her legs wouldn't move, her lungs desperately wanted air, and her throat burned from screaming. She saw the Hunter standing over her with a Chester cat smile on his face. He knelt down close to her and added, "To think your downfall was your own fashion sense." He laughed and stood back up and took a hatchet from its holder on his belt. He ran his finger along the side of the hatchet's blade before he looked down at Red.

"What to do, what to do?" the Hunter mused as he looked around at the darkness surrounding them. He knelt down again and moved his hatchet down her stomach and added, "Cut you down the middle and watch you bleed out?" he hovered the hatchet over her right thigh and continued, "cut off each limb and see how long you stay awake screaming before you pass out?" he moved the hatchet back up her stomach and towards her right arm, "maybe cut off each digit of your hands and feet and feed them to you?" He moved the hatchet over her neck and added, "Or maybe I just decapitate you here and now? So many choices." Red stared at him as more tears poured from her eyes. All she could do was watch him as he contemplated what he was going to do next.

Something moved behind the Hunter that caught Red's eye. She looked behind him into the darkness and thought she saw a shape circle around before disappearing. She didn't know if she really saw something or it was her mind playing tricks on her through her blurry, tear-filled eyes. The Hunter let out a sigh and Red's eyes were pulled back to him. He shook his head and looked at her before he said, "I can't come up with anything. So I guess I'm done." The Hunter lifted the hatchet over his head and Red closed her eyes waiting for the impact.

The Hunter let out a scream of both shock and pain before it sounded like he was stumbling back. Red cracked open her eyes and then opened them fully as she saw the Hunter was gone. She looked around and was shocked to see that the black wolf was biting into Hunter's right shoulder. It thrashed back and forth as blood began to stain his shirt. The Hunter was able to grab the wolf and throw it off his body. The wolf bounced on the ground before it was able to stand back to its feet.

"God damn mutt!" the Hunter yelled before he lifted his hatchet and a smile formed on his face before he added, "Guess I'll carve into you first." The wolf lowered its body ready to strike, but then stood back up and gave the Hunter a toothy smile.

"You forget," the wolf said before it hissed, "We wolves hunt in packs." From the shadows, wolves stalked closer towards the Hunter. All snarled as saliva dripped from their jaws. Red looked around and counted twenty wolves in total. The Hunter looked at all the wolves, but his smile never faltered.

"I'll carve you all!" the Hunter yelled before charging headlong towards the black wolf. The other wolves around them charged. The Hunter swung at any wolf close to him, but one bit down onto his hand causing him to lose his grip on the handle of the hatchet. With his weapon gone, the wolves pounced and tore into his clothing to get at his flesh.

The black wolf stepped in front of Red blocking her from the slaughter behind him. The wolf looked down at Red and stated, "A young thing like yourself does not need to see such a gruesome scene." Red winced as she heard the Hunters blood-curdling screams that soon turned to gurgling. Once the gurgling had ceased, the Wolf took the part of Red's coat that was caught in the bear trap and ripped it to free her. Red lay on the ground not knowing if she should move or not. The wolf nudged his wet snout on Red's shoulder as he said, "Get up, we need to take you home."

Red nodded as she sat up and then got to her feet. She was about to turn towards were the Hunter was, but the Wolf quickly grabbed the torn part of her coat and pulled. She stumbled before she looked back at the wolf as it said, "Don't, you don't need to see what has transpired." Red was about to respond when a second black wolf walked up to them. It looked from the wolf next to Red and then at Red herself. Its maw was covered in blood and part of the flannel shirt that the Hunter wore was between its sharp teeth. The second wolf walked over to Red and placed a rusty key at her feet before it slowly backed away. Red slowly reached down and picked it up. She felt the wolf's slobber on the key and the smell of copper coming from it.

"Come," the black wolf said before it turned and started to trot away. Red quickly caught up with the wolf and the two walked towards the door within the fence. The wolf would occasionally stop, sniff the ground, and then lead red around a hidden trap within the ground. Once at the door Red placed the key in each lock and turned. Each padlock popped open and fell to the ground with a thud. Red pushed the door and it creaked open.

As Red and the wolf traveled down the path towards the village, the forest seemed to come alive. Crickets called to one another, bats screeched above them. Red looked down at the wolf and asked, "My grandmother?"

"Dead," the wolf said flatly as it continued, "After he drugged you, he cut up your grandmother and buried her in her own garden." Tears started to form in Red's eyes before she fell to her knees and began to sob. The black wolf stopped and looked back, waiting for her to get back on her feet. The wolf walked back to Red and nudged his snout against her face. Red suddenly embraced the wolf and sobbed into its fur. They stayed like this for a full hour before Red was able to get back to her feet and follow the wolf back to her village.

Red and the wolf emerged from the forest and walked into the village. Red's mother quickly ran to them, grabbed Red, and pulled her away from the Wolf. The villagers started to surround the wolf with their pitchforks and axes. Red squirmed and got away from her mother's grasp before she pushed through the crowd and stood between the crowd and the wolf. She yelled at them to stop and explained what had happened. Once she had finished, the villagers laid their weapons on the ground and regarded the wolf as a hero. When the rest of the pack emerged from the forest, they too were regarded as heroes and for their bravery: the villagers supplied the wolf pack with a feast.

As night fell, the villagers let the wolves sleep in the village as thanks for saving not only Red, but future children from the Hunters twisted game. As the full moon hung over the little village black shapes slowly slithered throughout the village and into each cottage. As the sun began to peak over the mountains to the east the wolf pack slowly trotted back into the forest. One wolf turned back to the village, with a piece of red fabric in its bloody maw.


	2. Pay the Piper

Near the edge of a large cliff sat a small village. The village was well known for the fresh fish and seafood sold at its marketplace. The villagers there were fisherman and the ocean they lived close to was a treasure trove of fish, crabs, lobsters, and other sea life. However, that wasn't all the village was known for. Along with fresh seafood, the village was plagued with a rat infestation. The rats would steal food, clothing, and bite anyone who tried to stop them. Many of the children in the village were sick with whatever bacteria the rats carried. The villagers tried everything: traps, poison, and even going so far as to get feral cats to try and eat the rats. However, nothing seemed to work. To keep the flow of product from the marketplace, many of the fishermen traveled across the ocean and plains to sell their product. Those who traveled were subjected to bandits and random fits of Mother Nature raging into a typhoon. The Rats were relentless and refused to leave the village.

One day, a wanderer wearing a black cloak came into the village and saw the villagers readying their products for travel while fighting off the rats who wanted food. The wanderer walked to the village leader and asked, "Seems you have a rat problem."

"That's an understatement," the village leader said before he explained, "Damn rats won't leave us alone. It's like they're drawn to this village and wants us out leave so they can run rampant."

"I can take care of them," the wanderer stated flatly

The village leader looked at him in udder shock. He then let out a bellowing laugh and said, "What could you possibly do? We've tried traps, poison, and even cats. They avoided the traps, know what food is poisoned, and have even driven the cats away. What could you do that we haven't done already?"

"I can get rid of these rats for you," the wanderer said before he turned to the village leader and added, "For a price." The village leader narrowed his eyes towards the wanderer. He couldn't see his face since it was hidden by the darkness within the hood of his cloak.

"I'll need to console the villagers. They'll need to know why you're here and where their money is going," the village leader said. The wonderer merely nodded and walked over to the large well in the middle of the village. He sat on the edge of the well and watched the villagers continue their work.

As the sun began to set, the villagers piled into the town hall after the Village leader went around letting them know there was a meeting tonight. While the villagers took their seats, they saw a stranger in a black cloak sitting on a folded chair at the front. The villagers began to murmur and gossip about him. Everything fell silent when the village leader walked up to the podium at the front and cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this man here has come to us saying he can get rid of our rat problem," the village leader announced.

"Oh please, what can he offer that we have not tried," a man in the crowd yelled. The Village leader turned to the wanderer who simply stood to his feet and walked towards the podium. The village leader moved to let him speak.

"What I can offer, is a solution to your infestation," the wanderer said before he continued, "For a price, I can eliminate this infestation before your first boats even leave for their deliveries." Those in the town hall blinked at the man in shock. Then, laughed.

"Oh please, there's no way you can do that before our fist boats leave the harbor. Hell, if you can. I'd pay a hefty price for that," the name man in the crowd laughed.

"Same here!" another man yelled. The wonderer's head moved a little and from the darkness of his hood. The village leader saw a smile form on his face. The wonderer moved away from the podium and let the villager leader talk once again. By the end of the meeting: the village leader gave the wanderer a large sum of money he would be paid should he actually do his job. In truth, the amount was something the village couldn't pay. The village leader and other villagers knew the wanderer couldn't do what he claimed and simply threw out a number to satisfy him. The wonderer simply nodded and walked towards the exit of the town hall. All the while, the villagers laughed at his Ludacris solution.

The next morning as the sun began to rise. The villagers left their homes and readied their product for shipping. However, they all stopped as they saw the wanderer standing at the top of the cliff that overlooked jagged rocks. Everyone stopped and stared at the wanderer as he reached into his right sleeve and produced a flute. The wonderer brought the flute to his lips and began to play. The villagers laughed and knew they wouldn't need to pay this lunatic anything. However, as the wanderer continued to play. Rats began to run out of holes, cracks, and barrels. They scurried towards the wanderer and then pasted him. The villagers watched in utter shock as the rats ran off the cliff and fell down towards the jagged rocks below.

The village leader slowly walked towards the wanderer. Neither he nor the rats paid him no mind. He walked passed the wanderer and looked over the edge of the cliff. He placed his hand over his mouth and said, "Sweet Jesus." At the bottom of the cliff: dead rats floated in the now blood red water. Some missed the water and were skewered on the jagged rocks. Those who seemed to survive the fall were trying to drown themselves. The village leader turned to the wanderer who continued to play his flute.

When the last few rats flung themselves from the cliff, the wonderer removed the flute from his lips and let out a long, stratified sigh. He placed his flute back in the sleeve of his cloak and looked at the village leader. Another smile formed on his face as he said, "I held up my end of the bargain. Now you hold up yours." The village leader's mouth gaped open in shock.

"W-we can't," the village leader finally said before he added, "It was just a number we threw out. We didn't think you'd be able to do the job."

"I held up my end of the bargain. Now you hold up yours," the wanderer repeated. A gust of wind began to blow and his hood began to quiver. For the first time, the village leader saw the wonderer's eyes. They were pitch black and sunken into his face. Slanted blood red pupils stared daggers at him. The village leader felt a chill go down his spine

"Like hell! That was way too easy. How do we know the rats didn't come from you!" a man yelled from the crowd. The wondered turned to the crowd and they too saw his eyes. The crowd slowly backed away from him. The wind began to howl as the beginnings of a storm began to start as small droplets of rain began to fall from the sky. The wanderer turned back to the village leader.

"Keep. Your. End," the wanderer hissed. The village leader swallowed hard and slowly shook his head and once again told him they could not pay him. The wanderer let out a long sigh before he turned and began to walk away from the villagers and their leader. He stopped and a crackle of thunder roared far away over the ocean. Without turning the wonderer stayed, "I will be given what I earned. One way or another." the wonderer then left the village to let them continue their day.

Some of the crowd just watched as the wanderer left. Others simply laughed at his threat and continued on with their duties. The village leader continued to watch the wonderer leave until he was no longer in sight. He then looked back over the edge and down at the blood red ocean near the jagged rocks and the lifeless bodies of rats. He felt a pit in his stomach and knew: he had made a mistake.

The storm came and stopped any travel by boat or wagon. Many of the villagers thought the wonderer caused the storm, but others chocked it up to coincidence. As the day continued on, the storm passed and when the sun began to set. The villagers started their night routine before the village was silent as darkness overtook it. Candlelight illuminated in the windows of the houses before they too dimmed and went out.

Under the moonlight, a dark shadow slithered through the village and towards the large well in the middle of the village. The wanderer stood tall near the edge of the well and looked down into the deep abyss within. He reached into the sleeve of his cloak and produced not a flute, but a violin. He placed the lower bout of the violin under the right side of his chin and lifted the bow to the violin's bridge. His fingers flexed on the strings on its neck before he began to play. The bow pulled against the strings and produced a soft melody. If any of the villagers heard the sound, they did not give it away as their homes seemed still and unmoved.

The wonderer continued to play and a wicked smile formed on his face as the soft melody began to quicken and began to grow louder. Within the homes of the village, the villagers did not stir, but their children did. They sat up in a sleepy state and crawled out of their beds and walked zombie-like from their rooms and into the kitchens of their homes. Each child went to where they stored their knives and took out the sharpest knife. They then walked into their parent's rooms. It seemed the melody kept the parents in a deep sleep as their children sliced at their throats. Blood oozed from their cuts, but the parents never woke. The children then searched their homes for all the money their parents had and when the deed was done, the children then slowly walked towards their front doors and walked out into the night air. They walked towards the wonderer playing the violin.

The wanderer looked towards the children. Some were holding bloody knives while others were untouched by blood like they had watched their siblings kill their parents. The wonderer moved away from the well as the children with knives let them drop to the ground. They then walk zombie-like towards the wonderer first and drop burlap sacks of gold coins at his feet before they head towards the well. One by one: They stood on the edge of the well before they jumped into the dark abyss within. As the first few children jump into the well, loud splashes echoed deep down in the well, before loud wet splats, and finally, loud thuds echo from within the abyss. When the final child flung herself in the well, the Wanderer stopped playing and placed the violin back in his cloaks sleeve. The Wanderer picked up the sacks and emptied their contents in a black burlap sack he always carried. The Wanderer then turned and walked away from the village as a single rat scurried from a hole in the ground. It looked at the wanderer who seemed to simply disappear into the darkness of the night.


	3. To be a Master

Have you heard of Pokémon? It was this new game that came out that took the whole world by storm. It was such a success there were toys, cards, and even a show about the game that to this day is still going on. How I wish it never became a global phenomenon, otherwise none of this would have happened. Three months ago it started with a missing cat. Mrs. Tully called about her missing cat Whiskers. We simply told her we'd keep an eye out for the cat since we weren't going to send the entire police department to search for a cat that was probably sleeping in the backyard. How I wish we would have sent even one officer to look for that cat.

A week went by and we all forgot about the cat. It came back to my mind when we investigated a break-in at the local elementary school. When we arrived the teachers told us that the back door was wide open with the glass broken. We searched and found nothing, but were told that one of the class's pets was missing. Guess instead of a bunny or fish tank. The class elected to have a pet rat. We told the teacher we'd keep an eye out for the rat before we left. The thought of Mrs. Tully's cat came back into my mind. I asked one of the officers if we heard anything from Mrs. Tully about her cat. The officer informed me that she had called again to see if we had anything, but then got a call from her son saying Whisker's came back. I nodded and totally forgot about the pet rat as we went back to our usual routine of stopping speeders; people who liked to drink in public, and those who didn't know how to use their turn signals. That last part would always give me strange looks when the offenders had to come to court to fight the ticket.

But, I'm getting off track. Everything seemed normal until Alex Romano went missing. His mother called us in a panic saying she hadn't seen him since he went off to school. Normally many police stations would say wait 24 hours, but since I've heard enough horror stories about missing kids. We jumped into action the minute we got the call and got a large group of police officers and locals to search. Sadly, we couldn't come up with any leads to his disappearance. We questioned his friends who saw him last, but they all stated he left for home by himself.

The next day we continued to search while his parents used the media to put the word out about their missing son. If I had known what I know now: all of this could have been stopped. We could have prevented all of this. However, we didn't know what was really happening within the shadows of this fucking town, but we would soon find out after Jessica Jackson suddenly went missing a week after Romano went missing.

We came to the conclusion that there was someone taking people and doing god knows what to them. With two people now reported missing, we increased our efforts and even called neighboring counties to help with the search. We came up with nothing. I had a gut feeling we'd find the two dead somewhere in a ditch. Dear god, I wish we would have found them like that. As horrible as that sounds: what really happened to them was far worse.

While we continued our search, we still had to do our daily duties. That's when Danny Sullivan was arrested. It was a month after Jessica went missing. Danny Sullivan was a mid-thirty-year-old who worked at the local elementary school as a janitor. He was well known in the community as he was at every fundraiser, every town hall meeting, he was even the first man to help with the search for Romano and Jessica. He was also kind of a man-child wearing cartoon shirts and talking about the latest cartoon on TV or anime he was currently watching. So when Danny was arrested for DUI we were all worried. The last time he was arrested like this was when his wife left him. She just up and left without a word. this caused Danny to start drinking. Heavily, but with the help of family and friends, he seemed to break the habit. Soon after that Danny's wife was reported missing by her parents. Of course, Danny was a suspect but was later dropped when his alibi checked out. Nothing came about it and the case went cold.

Danny was placed in a holding cell until Monday when the courts would open again. While booking and placing him in a cell he went on about needing to collect them all. I laughed a little knowing he was still into Pokémon and figured when Pokémon Go came out; it must have sparked some nostalgia in him. Hell, it did with me for a few weeks before I lost interest and a ton of data. I figured in his drunken stupor he was trying to catch some rare Pokémon on the app. I just told the arresting officer to let him sleep it off and he'll be fine in the morning.

It all came to a head when we got the call that would change all our lives forever. It was Sunday Afternoon when a local storage facility called us in a panic saying we needed to get down there immediately. I figured it was some kind of fight since Sundays where their auction days to sell off units that have deferred on payments. So I headed over there with three other officers just in case since last time I got popped in the jaw.

We met the owner in his office. He was white as a ghost and began to explain that one of the units had an awful smell coming from it. He used his skeleton key to open it, but before he finished he stopped and handed us the unit's key and told us to have a look for ourselves. When we left, I heard the owner start to vomit. I looked at the other two officers and prepared ourselves for the worst. We weren't prepared for what we found.

We slowly walked towards the unit in question and I instantly recognized the smell of death as we reached the door. My partner slowly opened the steel door and I instantly vomited at the scene before me. The storage unit was one of those industrial styles of units that could house a damn apartment. Inside was the most gruesome scene: large shelves lined the walls of the unit with what I can only describe as a surgical table in the middle with dried blood stains on it. I placed my shirt over my nose and mouth to try and counteract the smell inside. All three of us walked towards the shelves and that's where we found more gore. All the shelves had a painted number on the wall behind them and an object lying under each number

While my partners called dispatch I started at the shelf with the number 1 painted on the wall. There was a dead frog with what looked like a rosebud stitched to its back. Instead of its ruby red color, the rose was painted green. This discovery alone made me instantly know what this was: a twisted Pokémon collection. Numbers 2 and 3 had nothing in them, but number 4 had a carcass of a salamander with what looked like its tail burn since its scaly skin was charred black. 7 had a tank with a small dead turtle inside. It probably died from poison since someone painted its skin blue. Number 9 held a horrific sight: a large tortoise lay on the shelf, dead. Its skin was painted blue like the turtle. That wasn't the horrific part though. Two metal pipes were drilled into its shell. Each had dried blood splattered on the tortoise's shell and the pipes. It looked like some sadistic fuck had hammered the pipes into the shell.

I continued down the shelves and looked at all the abominations that were housed there: Number 15 had a queen bee that was stabled to a board, with sowing needles pushed into its sides to replace its arms. 16, 17, and 18 all had different sized birds. Their feathers spray painted to look like their Pokémon counterparts. I noticed their wings were broken to keep them from flying away. I vomited again onto the stone floor. I composed myself and continued down the shelves. I found the elementary school's pet rat: it was under number 19. Its fur was painted purple and its tail was bent in a way to look like a swirl. At least I prayed that their rat was number 19 and wasn't under 20. The rat under it looked like it was inflated like a balloon, to resemble Raticate.

23 had a rattlesnake painted purple and its fangs looked to be ripped out of its mouth. 24 had a king cobra painted purple as well, but its skin flaps were frilled open with the use of toothpicks pierced into the snake's neck and it looked like Arbok's designs were carved into its flaps. Number 27 had a shrew nailed to the shelf itself. Its fur was shaved completely off; skin painted yellow, and the block patterns of sandshrew were etched into its skin. Before I could move on, one of my partners called me over to a shelf with the number 52 painted on the back wall. There, we found Mrs. Tully's cat. Later on, I found out Mrs. Tully's son simply bought his mother a new cat to replace the lost one. Here, we found Whiskers dead. Its fur was painted tan while its front paws were painted brown. Stitched on top of the poor cats head was a large gold oval coin.

We continued to catalog everything we found in that twisted horror show left in that storage unit. We all thought we'd seen the worst it had to offer. We were wrong: number 122 was when we discovered Romano. His skin was pale and his cheeks were painted pink, large clown gloves were stitched into his writs to keep them from falling off, bat-like wings were stitched to his shaven head, pink spheres where stitched to his shoulders and thighs, and his feet had on blue elf shoes. We found out later that his feet were amputated off to stitch the shoes on. Next to him was a praying mantis with its front legs cut off and replaced with scalpel blades.

However, it was what was next to the mantis that caused us all to feel our blood run cold: it was Mrs. Jackson. She looked like her body was stuffed with food to make her look pudgier then her normal skinny physique. Her sin was painted purple, lips were puffed up and red like the dress she wore. We had to leave the unit to try and get our heads on straight. Once we calmed down a little we called the forensic team who documented everything we found. While they collected the horrors within: myself and the other two police officers questioned the owner. He looked into the records and discovered the name on the unit was Tracy Sullivan: Danny's ex-wife.

We went back to the station and interviewed Danny who was Sober now. We asked him about the unit in question thinking that maybe he had let a friend use the unit, but what we found was far more disturbing. When we told him about our discovery, he cracked a smile and asked us how we liked his collection. He then started rambling on about how his collection of original Pokémon was almost complete. He went on to say once done, he could work on the next set and the next set and the next. He was salivating at the thought and that's when we all saw his true colors. His normal, calm demeanor was a facade for his true, sadistic nature. He told us he would be the first true Pokémon trainer and would go down in the history books. We all felt a chill go down our spine as he continued to talk about his collection.

After his confession, he was arrested and now sits on death row for all the countless murders he committed towards the animals he tortured. Everything got worse as more information came to light about how Danny created his abominations. The forensic team told us there were no sedatives in the unit, which meant Danny operated on his victims while they were still alive. I, unfortunately, had to tell Roman's parents what had happened to their son while one of my partners informed Mrs. Jackson's husband what happened to his wife.

Now, I'm sitting here contemplating my next move. While categorizing all the dead bodies Danny used to create his little collection. We stumbled upon an amalgamation under the number 150. The thing was so horrifically mutilated we had to get a DNA test to see just who or what it was made of. The DNA tests just came back a few hours ago, and now I'm just looking at my phone trying to come up with the right words to say. I take a long breath before letting it out slowly. I then reach for my phone to inform Tracy's parents: we found their daughter.


	4. My Strings Hold me down

Before I begin, I-I just want to say: I'm sorry. I'm sorry for anything I've done or what I might do, but you have to understand. They make me do it. They make me do all the horrible things I've done. I've tried to contact someone, anyone who could help me. It's gotten to the point that I've even tried to call the police, but they've always stopped me as I go to dial. I get to the phone and about to dial and they sit me down on the couch and force me to watch TV. Even when I'm in public and even think of telling someone, a complete stranger of what they've made me do. They take over my body and force me to keep short, normal conversations. This is the only place where I feel I can relay what they've done and they don't interfere. I know what I've said so far doesn't make sense, but let me explain:

My name is Marcus Ford and I was unfortunate enough to be born with a few abnormalities. For one, I was a tall child with long skinny arms and legs with light brown cracked skin that looked like wood. You could say twig like appendages. However, it was my pointed nose that caused many of my bullies to target me. The combination of my limbs and nose caused everyone to give me the nicknamed: Pinocchio. My school life was hell because of this. Every day was met with: Pinocchio, you better not lie or your nose will get longer, Pinocchio you left your strings at home, etc. All of my bulling ended in the sixth grade.

I was being bullied by one of my tormentors: Billy Thomson. He was laying into me thick and was shoving me to try and get me to do something. I wasn't a very confrontational kid and would usually let the bullies continue their tormenting until they got bored and looked for a new victim. However, Billy was different. He would continue his torment far longer than the others. He would bully me almost all day until the end of the day. This day, however, was different. Billy pushed me and I fell back onto my ass. He laughed and said, "Go ahead a cry Pinocchio." I sat on the ground watching Billy laugh and continue egging me on. Then, I saw them. Shimmering in front of me were thin, long strings that seemed to just descend from the heavens. Each string seemed to attach to different parts of my body and forced me to my feet.

I felt the strings force my body towards Billy who was talking with his friends, telling them how pathetic I was. I felt the strings use my right arm to reach out and grab Billy by his shoulder and spun him around to face me. I watched, almost in slow motion as the strings pulled back my arm and punched Billy square in the face. I watched as Billy went down to the ground clutching his face crying out in pain. His so-called friends bolted away from the scene, I guess fearing if I decided to turn my wrath on them. I felt the strings pop out of my skin (which felt like a piece of hair being quickly plucked from my arm) and float back into the sky. I might have gotten detention for a month, but all the bullying stopped.

However, this isn't where it ended. The strings would occasionally appear from the sky to help me. Whether it would be to quickly pull me back from the road just before a car runs a red light, help with cooking, or just help my fingers type up a college paper that would result in an A. You would think that this was a blessing. Hell, I did when I bought a lottery ticket and the strings showed me what numbers to place. Said numbers banked me three hundred million in winnings. I could pay off my college loans, help my parents pay off their home, and live the rest of my life as I saw fit without the worry of money. However, you know the old saying: the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

One night in October I was just sitting on my couch watching TV when I felt the familiar tug of the strings. I let them pull my body up and head into my room. They got me dressed and then preceded to lead me to the door. This was the first time since sixth grade the strings took over my body fully. They placed me into my car and we drove towards downtown where they stopped in front of a hole in the wall bar. They proceeded to lead me into the bar where I sat at the counter and ordered a drink. I didn't really understand why they were forcing me to drink, but I wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth. I figured I did something that warranted a celebratory drink.

I downed my first drink and ordered another, well the strings did it for me, but you get the idea. As the night went on and the strings made my body order the fourth drink. I felt eyes on me and so did the strings. They moved my head to the left where I noticed a beautiful blonde simply staring at me at the end of the bar. The strings moved my hand up to wave and she simply winked before getting up and moving to the seat next to me. She introduced herself as Veronica and she was so beautiful: long blond hair, ruby red lips, and curves in all the right places.

She ordered another drink and we began talking the night away. I would make her laugh with my technician stories and she would rant about her misogynistic boss. For hours we talked and when the bar announced last call. She suggested we continue this party back at my place. I didn't object, but I did feel tipsy and felt I wasn't good to drive. However, the strings took care of that. They used my body and helped Veronica to my car. As I sat down behind the wheel I watched them expertly use my body to drive my car back to my apartment.

As the strings used my body to lead her into my apartment I mentally thanked the strings for a belly full of beer and a beautiful woman to sleep next to in bed. I couldn't ask for anything more. However, this is where my love for the strings ended. Once I closed the door behind me, Veronica turned around and tried to seductively remove her dress. I say try because of her alcoholic state. she was trying to find the strings of her dress and grasping nothing but air. I laughed and then felt the strings pull my hand up towards her. I figured they were going to help me undress her, but I was wrong.

The strings took my hands and wrapped them around her neck. They used my arms to lift her up and pin her onto the wall as my hands began to squeeze around her neck. She screamed in shock and pain as she tried to kick me, but because of my lengthy arms, her kicks only hit the air. She then began to punch at my arms to try and escape, but the strings nulled the pain as they continued to force my hands tighter. I wanted to scream, I wanted to yell for them to stop. However, they had stitched my mouth shut and I felt them pull my lips into a smile. All I could do was watch as the strings suffocated her. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see the life leave her eyes, but the strings…they forced my eyes open. I was forced to watch as they killed her using my own hands.

I felt tears stream down my cheeks as I saw the last remnants of her life leave her eyes. When her body finally went limp, they released her and let her flop to the ground. However, they weren't done yet. They had my hand grab her right ankle and they dragged her towards my basement. I watched as my arm opened the basement door and they threw her down the stairs. The strings then led my body towards the kitchen as it grabbed every sharp knife I owned, trash bags, and finally bleach before taking my body down into the basement.

I had to watch as the strings used my body to cut Veronica's body into chunks before placing several of those chunks into garbage bags, then triple bag them so the fluids don't drip from the bottom of the bags, and finally used the bleach to clean the concrete floor of the basement. I wanted to vomit all the while as I watched the blood spray from her skin and cover the floor, but somehow the strings kept the bile down. Once they finished cleaning, they took the garbage bags outside and into the trash bins before leading me back inside.

Once the door closed and was locked I felt the familiar jolt of the strings leaving my body. I fell to my knees and began to hyperventilate as tears once again rolled down my face. Everything that just happened replayed in my mind over and over again. Why did the strings force me to kill her? Then the thought hit me: I had just killed another human being. I had become a monster! I got up and headed for the phone. It didn't matter how long I would be in jail. I wasn't going to live with the knowledge I had killed someone. I could blame it on the strings, but I highly doubt anyone would believe me. When I reached for the phone I felt a tug on my arm. The strings had returned and were stopping me from calling the police. I tried to resist, but they wouldn't budge. They moved my body over to my bedroom and they forced my body into bed. They stayed connected to my body to keep me from leaving. I didn't want to sleep, I refused after what had happened, but somehow the strings forced my body to sleep and after many attempts to fight it off. I succumbed to the darkness.

I shot up in a cold sweat. I looked around and found myself still in my bedroom. I thought about what had transpired and tried to put it off as a twisted dream. However, I had to confirm it. I quickly got out of bed and headed towards the trash bins outside. I reached for the lid and stopped. My hand hovered over the lid and I hoped that when I opened it, there was nothing. I swallowed hard and tore off the lid. My eyes were closed and I dreaded opening them. I quickly opened them to find…nothing. No trash bags were in the bin. I let out a relieved sigh and knew it was all nothing but a nightmare. I wish that's all it was.

I walked back into the house and turned the TV on while I went to make my breakfast. I heard the newscaster talk about the usual politics, weather, and the score for last night's football game. The usual things the news droned on about. When I finished making my omelet, I brought it out into the living room and began to eat. I stopped midway when a news story appeared about a missing woman. I felt a cold ping in my spine as the story continued. When they showed her picture with her name under it. My blood ran cold. There, staring at me from the TV screen was a smiling Veronica. I felt a tremor go through my body as I violently began to shake and once again hyperventilate.

I must have sat there for half an hour just shaking and trying to control my breathing when a knock came from my front door. I sat there and waited, thinking I imagined it. The knocking came again. I took a long deep breath before letting it out slowly. I got up and opened my door. Two police officers stood at my doorstep and I felt a tingle go down my spine.

"Are you Marcus Ford?" one of the officers asked. I nodded and he continued, "do you know anything about your neighbor Eric Sanders?" I looked at him confused before I heard yelling outside. I poked my head out and saw three more officers escorting my neighbor out of his home and towards a cop car.

"I don't know where those bags came from, they're not mine!" my neighbor yelled. I looked back at the officers in confusion.

"We found the remains of Veronica roads in his trash bin. Seems he killed her and dismembered her. A bar owner said he saw her three nights ago at the bar and saw her leave with Mr. Sanders," The officer explained before he asked, "We were wondering if you saw her enter his home or heard screams?" I felt a cold chill run through my body. I had to tell them the truth. My neighbor didn't kill her. I did. I was about to tell them that when I felt a familiar tug on my body. I felt my lips move and surprisingly heard my voice answer them.

"I'm sorry officers, I've been battling a wicked head cold and didn't hear a thing," My voice said. I couldn't believe it. The strings could not only control my body but control my voice! The officers nodded and told me to feel better before leaving. I closed the door and felt the strings leave my body. I placed my back to the door before sliding down to the floor. These strings could do whatever they wanted with my body. I finally broke down and began to sob. Whatever these Strings are attached to would use my body for their murderous intent and I could do nothing. Then, something popped into my mind: the officer said she went missing three days ago. I've been out for three days! I quickly got up and grabbed my phone. It's there I saw texts and voicemails from my boss and coworkers wishing me well and to get better soon. I went to the very first text and saw I had texted my boss saying I was very sick and if I could work from home. My boss, the kind-hearted person he was. Told me to use my sick days and don't open my email.

Those fucking strings placed me in a dream state and used my body to move the bags into my neighbor's bins. I cursed at them and shouted, "What do you want from me!" there was no response. I sighed and texted my boss to let him know I felt better and would be in tomorrow. He sent me a "that's great" text and then I got all the "good to hear" and glad you're better" texts from my coworkers

I placed my phone down and sat back down on the couch. I had no idea what these strings wanted me to do or why they forced me to kill Veronica. I heard the familiar newscaster talking about Veronica and I lifted my head up to see them interviewing the bartender. There, I saw one of the strings attached to his head and they were moving his mouth. They couldn't just control me, but it seemed they could control anyone. So why did they need me to kill her? I had hoped since they can control others, I would be left alone and they could torment other people. However, I was dead wrong.

Three months after Veronica, the strings once again returned and took control of my body. They took me out to my car and drove into the city. After a few hours, they stopped the car next to some hooker. The strings used my mouth and voice to offer her money for…sexual favors. She agreed and got into my car. The strings used my body to strangle her in a back alley and left her for dead. The next one was a coworker of mine: Alice. It was her birthday and we all went out to celebrate. Alice had way too much to drink and her husband had to take her home. They never made it home as the strings forced me to cut their break line. I wanted someone, anyone to see what I was doing, but everyone at the party had strings attached to their heads, not looking towards the parking lot. Alice and her husband Ben drove through a stop sign and were struck by an eighteen wheeler.

I couldn't do a damn thing! Every time I tried to tell someone, the strings would quickly take over me and stop me. After killing a mother and her unborn child, the strings began to change. The next time they appeared, I heard a rattle of chains. I turned to see the strings had become more…demonic. Their invisible, fish line-like body had been replaced with rusted, bloodstained chains. At the tips of the chains were blood-soaked meat hooks. The chains, like lightning shot towards me. Their meat hooks pierced into my skin but drew no blood. I felt a sharp pain in my body. One by one the meat hooks pierced my flesh and caused waves upon waves of pain to flair through my body.

When the chains forced my body to move, I felt the pain through my bones. I couldn't cry out, couldn't wince as the chains forced my pain riddled body out towards my car. That night, the chains forced me to kill my boss and set fire to his home. I not only killed him but killed his three daughters who were caught in the fire. They forced my body back home and with every meat hook that dislodged from me. A wave of pain burned through my body. Once released, I fell to the floor. Feeling like shards of glass was being forced through my bloodstream. I finally passed out from the pain, only to be woken up by the buzzing of my phone. The pain was gone, but the memory of everything the chains made me do was still etched into my mind. I answered the phone and heard one of my coworkers crying as she broke the news I already knew: our boss died in a house fire with his daughters.

The whole office when to his funeral and there I saw the chains hanging over my bosses casket. As he was lowered into the ground, the chains rattled like they were laughing. It took all my strength to not yell at them, knowing I was the only one who could see them.

This brings me to here. I hope that someone, anyone will read this and help. Do anything, everything in your power to stop them! I can't stop them and they keep using me to kill for them…dear, God, I can hear them rattling. there coming to force me to kill! Please someone, anyone. Hel….. Don't worry everyone. everything is fine. I've been battling pneumonia and it's been giving me some wicked hallucinations. So please don't worry because: I have no string that hold me down.


	5. All Stuffed with Fluff

I used to love Winnie the Pooh. I used to love watching the cartoons, reading the books, and collecting the toys and plushies. However, I say used to not because I grew out of the trend, but because of what I went through when I was six. Now, every time I see a Pooh toy, see the opening show logo or hear a child humming the tune of the show. I'm instantly taken back to the day I so much wish to forget. My therapist has tried to get me to confront my fears and even has gone so far to bring in a Pooh bear stuffed animal. As soon as I saw it, I freaked out. Like she just let in Leatherface and he began swinging his chainsaw towards me. She tried so hard to get me to confront my tormented memories but to no avail. This is where you all come in. she said if I tell my story to someone other than her. I might find the courage to face it and finally move on with my life.

It happened 21 years ago when I just turned six. My mother took me to my favorite toy store: Geppetto's Workshop. Above the name was an image of the Geppetto character from the Disney movie working on Pinocchio. I loved that store. It was much smaller than the big corporate toy stores like Toys R Us. I loved wandering around the aisles looking at all the handmade stuffed animals and handmade toys that littered the shelves. When I walked in, I wanted to run around the store like I used to, to find my birthday present. My child energy was still at its peak even after the events of my party hours ago. My mother had prepared a hundred acre woods party complete with Winnie the Pooh decorations. One of her work friends even came dressed as Winnie the Pooh. Like the ones, you'd see at Disney World.

I was about to run through the store when my mother grabbed my hand tightly and said, "Stay with me, Mathew. I don't want you to miss seeing your present." I followed my mother towards the counter where the elderly man we all called Geppetto stood waiting for us.

"Well hello there Matthew, I heard you're turning six today," Geppetto said. I nodded and he continued, "Well your mother called me ahead of time to get your birthday present ready. Did you know I make all the toys here?"

My eyes widened as my naive child-self asked, "Really? Do you have elves helping you like Santa?" this made him laugh out loud.

"Oh boy, I wish, but no," he said before he reached down and began to pull out plushies of Winnie the Pooh characters. When he placed the final plushie on the counter I quickly pointed to the Winnie the Pooh one and asked for that. She simply shook her head and my excitement slowly dissipated.

"Oh no Matthew, we're getting all of them," my mother informed me. My excitement came back full force as I squealed with joy and danced as though I had spiders crawling all over me. My mother paid from my gift and Geppetto placed each one in an individual box. All except Pooh, who I wanted to have out while we went home. I continued to thank my mother as we walked to the car. When I climbed into the car I hugged my Pooh Plushie and felt something weird. I poked the small lump at his stomach and looked at my mother.

"Mom, I think something's wrong with Pooh bear," I said. She reached back and felt the weird lump at his stomach. She poked it a little bit more before she stopped.

"Don't worry honey, it's just Pooh's all stuffed with fluff and it needs to settle. Geppetto did just make them and many times stuffing gets stiff before broken in to feel normal," she said to me. I accepted it and continued to hug my Pooh bear, unaware of the horrors ahead of me.

I took that bear everywhere: to the park, to school, Dentist and Doctors' appointments, and even to bed. The thought of that thing sleeping next to my head makes me gag every time I think about it. However, at that time: I loved that Pooh bear. I felt safe with it near me, but that would all change three months after getting it.

Like most overused toys. The Pooh plushie began to be worn down and when I went to go pick him up. His arm had a slight rip where it connected to its body. Now, most kids would cry and run to their parents, but I had already done that once and saw my mother sew up another plushie I had ripped years earlier. I walked out of my room and found my mother watching TV. I showed her Pooh and said innocently, "Pooh has a boo-boo." She laughed and took Pooh from me. When she took him she accidentally tore the arm from his body and the contents of Pooh bear fell to the ground. When that happened, it was the first time I heard my mother scream in udder terror.

The police then came as my mother shakily told then about what she had found in not only my Pooh bear but all the stuffed animals we got at Geppetto's Workshop. Apparently, Geppetto was a sick person who found pleasure in the most grotesque way. My mother found this out when she saw a glassy human eyeball fall from inside my Pooh Bear. She then ripped open my other plushies we got and found dried up human remains and dried up clumps of flesh mixed in the stuffing of my plushies. The police confronted Geppetto or Arthur Johns (His real name) and found that all the toys he created were meshed human remains in with the materials of the toys. Stuffed animals filled with a mixture of fluff and human remains, wooden toy cars that aren't really made of wood, but created with human bones and painted to look like wood, and even his version of Linkin logs was nothing more than the bones of babies painted and made to look like the toy.

It was later found that Arthur had a sick fetish of watching kids interact with the toys that he knew where made of or had in them, human remains. He was arrested and found that all the human remains came from the cemeteries in our town and the town over. He would dig up the bodies, take what he wanted, clean up each body part, and then use them in his toys.

That's basically it. This is why I can't stand Winnie the Pooh and I'm not sure talking about it here will even help me. However, one of my friends said he and his wife are opening a toy store. When I told my therapist this. She thought helping out in the store might help my fears and my friend said he'll try not to have too many Winnie the Pooh stuff. I figured what the hell, I'll help out since I so desperately want to conquer my fears. This way I can keep kids from experiencing the hell I had to go through and since I have master sewing skills from my mother. I can help repair and even make some stuffed animals I can sell on the shelves. All I need to do: is to make sure the stitching doesn't rip and expose the plushies contents….hidden inside.


	6. A Southern Night

The full moon hung high in the starless sky, illuminating the large farmhouse and its equally large cornfield. Crickets chirped while fireflies blinked every now and again. Somewhere a frog croaked in the forest boarding the farm. A light wind blew, making the corn stalks look as though they were swaying to the sound of nature. The wind suddenly stopped as the crickets went silent, the fireflies light died out, and the frog seemed to stop mid-croak. For several minutes the world fell silent. Then, the corn stalks began to violently shake as though something was running through the cornfield towards the forest.

The porch light of the farmhouse blinked to life as the front door opened and a large, built man with a long black beard walked out wearing a sweat-stained white T-shirt, dirty blue jeans. He saw the stalks shaking violently and quickly turned to the barn and saw the barn door slightly ajar.

"Son of a Bitch," the man cursed as he quickly ran back inside and grabbed his brown work boots.

"What's wrong Randy?" a woman asked. She had on a white nightgown and had long blond hair that went done to her lower back.

"One of the cattle got out," Randy explained as he struggled with his boot laces.

"I can go get it Pa," a boy said as he bounded down the stairs. He looked no more than twelve and wore an unbuttoned blue plaid shirt, tan shorts, and dirty holy socks.

"I got this JR," Randy said as he got one boot laced and attempted to lace the other.

"Aw, come on Pa. I promise I won't hurt it this time," JR pleaded before he added, "PLEEEEEESE?" using his best puppy dog eyes.

"Let the boy go Randy. He needs to learn," the woman said. Randy looked from JR to his wife and let out a long sigh.

"Alright, alright," Randy said defeated before he turned to JR and added, "Now don't damage the body JR. Handle it with care." JR jumped for joy as he ran past his father.

"Thanks, Ma, Pa. I'll bring it back lickity-split!" JR shouted as he ran into the cornfield towards the forest. Randy laughed as he closed the front door, untied his work boot, and placed them back next to the front door.

"Don't worry about him Randy, he'll do fine." His wife reassured him

"I know Mary, I know. I just wish he showed some more restraint," Randy said.

"If I remember correctly: you were that rowdy at his age," Mary joked.

"I know, I know," Randy said before a wolf howl came from within the forest. Randy looked out the window and added, "Maybe I should go out and help him." Randy then turned to his shotgun leaning against the wall. Mary lightly placed her hand on his shoulder.

"He'll be fine," Mary reassured him before adding, "He knows what lay in the forest and he's a resourceful boy. He'll be fine."

"Mama, Papa, what's going on," a little girl's voice lazily asked as a 6-year-old girl wearing a hello kitty dress walked down the stairs.

"Oh, Coraline did we wake you up, sweetie. I'm sorry," Mary said as she met Coraline at the bottom of the stairs. Mary stroked Coraline's long black hair as she explained what was happening. When she finished she asked Coraline, "Do you want a glass of milk to help you sleep?" Coraline sleepily nodded before Mary took Coraline's hand and led her to the kitchen. The two didn't make it to the kitchen, however. The front door suddenly and violently swung open. It slammed into the wall leaving large cracks in the drywall and the bottom hinge snapped off leaving it hanging from the top one.

Standing in the doorway was a large, six-foot tall werewolf with black fur. Its lime-green eyes shimmered in the moonlight. Its large right claw was clamped around the head of a boy who lay limply on the ground. The boys soft breathing was overshadowed by the large creature heaving each breath. Randy narrowed his eyes at the creature before he bellowed out, "Damn it JR. Ya broke the damn door!"

"I'm sorry Pa," the werewolf whined in a deep, gravelly voice before he lifted up the boy's body and said, "I was just excited about bringing him back."

Randy rubbed his eyes before he scolded, "Yeah, but you didn't have to tear the door clean off its hinges. How many times do I need to tell you: restrain from using your strength! I can't keep replacing each door you trash." The werewolf whined again and slowly shrunk away from the yelling man.

"Come now, Randy. He got the boy. Don't yell at the boy," Mary said. Randy sighed and nodded.

"Even with the broken door. I'm proud Boy," Randy praised. The werewolf gave him a toothy grin.

"Aw, thanks Pa," the werewolf said.

"Mama, Papa," Coraline began as the three turned to her. She had been staring at the boy in the werewolf's claw before she turned to her father and added, "I'm hungry"


	7. Shattered Looking Glass

Alice sat at the end of the long table, staring at her plate that had a yellow and red sponge cake on it. She fidgeted in her dress as she tried to calm her nerves. Every time she visited, her clothes would change to the same light blue dress with white pockets. Long red and green stockings would cover her legs, and ruby-red shoes would be placed on her feet. She always loved the dress as a kid, but now. Now, she hated how it felt on her. It reminded her of everything that happened leading up to this point.

The clang of a teacup being placed on a saucer brought her back to reality. She looked up to the tall, skinny man sitting at the far end of the long table. His once colorful wardrobe was replaced with a black and white straitjacket with the sleeves ripped off and replaced with black and white striped ones. Torn black suit pants covered the man's long skinny, bony legs as holy black dress shoes covered his feet. Atop the man's head, was a top hat. Its woven leather was replaced with patches of flesh. Some yellowing in age while others still dripped with fresh blood from the stitch work.

When the Hatter saw Alice looking at him she quickly looked down. He simply laughed as he placed the tea kettle on the spider hot plate. It bowed, before scuttling towards Alice. Careful not to hit any plates as it made its way down the table. The spider stopped and offered Alice the kettle. She declined and the spider seemed to wince before turning towards the Hatter.

"What's wrong Alice?" the Hatter asked before he continued, "You've yet to touch your sponge cake or drink your tea. I know the cake looks different, but I wanted to try a new recipe from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum's great, great, great Grandmother. Or was it their great, great, great-aunt?" the Hatter looked up to the sky in thought to remember. Alice flinched when he mentioned the twins. She looked at two seats where the two would have sat. Alice could see them making jokes and doing oddball things to try to make everyone at the table laugh and snort out tea from their noses. She then looked around at the other empty seats at the table and remembered the rest of her friends.

The March Hare trying to gain order while babbling something incoherent while adding more and more sugar cubes to his shacking teacup. Dodo puffing at his pipe while writing down plots to burn down the white rabbit's home. Dormouse, lovable, lazy Dormouse who would sleep in the tea Kettle and only come out when offered cake. The White rabbit, Who would always come up with quips about how he would foil Dodo's attempts. Finally, Bayard the lovable and loyal bloodhound. He was once charged with capturing Alice, but soon warmed up to her and became a loyal friend to her. a tear rolled down Alice's cheek as she remembered: He was the first to go.

"I'm not hungry," Alice admitted after she examined the empty table. She didn't see that the Hatter was watching her while she looked at each seat at the table. The Hatter sighed and laced his bony, leathery fingers together.

"Oh, Alice, Poor naïve Alice," the Hatter said before he explained, "You know that Tea Time is Tea Time and no one is late for tea." The Hatter looked around the empty table and sighed again while adding, "They knew the rules, they knew the time and yet they disobeyed. So they needed to be punished." They weren't punished because of being late. Alice thought. When she first came to this place Tea Time was just that: Tea Time. There was no scheduled time for tea. Hell, the Hatter would sometimes be late for Tea. However, as the years went on. The Hatter gradually went further, and further into madness. It hit its peak when he started visiting the Red Queen.

Something changed in the Hatter due to the Queen's influence. The Hatter's loving demeanor changed to one of cruelty. For years both he and the Red Queen abused Alice in the worst possible ways with each one trying to outdo the other. When her friends tried to help, they suffered: The Twins were hollowed out and used as human candles at the Red Queen's castle. The Dormouse being drowned in boiling hot tea. The white rabbit cooked and force-fed to Dodo who was then cooked and force-fed to Bayard. Bayard, the thought of the loyal dog made Alice choke back tears. She had to watch as he was forced to eat his friends and then. When the Queen and Hatter were satisfied. He was decapitated. The only one of her friends who seemed to be saved by their cruelty was the March hare: who was decapitated. His skull now hung at the Hatters belt loop with his bottom jaw removed. His two rabbit feet hung from the skull by small, silver chains. She had to watch and listen to the Hatter slowly go into madness before he began his game. This time, however, Alice was going to make it stop. She would force him to stop. By any means necessary.

Alice nodded at the Hatter and placed her hands in her dresses pockets. She felt the cold metal of the knife in her pocket. She wanted so badly to just leap up and stab it into the Hatters chest, but even though the Hatter was old. He was agile and quick on his feet. She needed to wait. She needed to just wait for the right opportunity. Alice jumped when the Hatter snapped his fingers in an Ah-ha moment.

"I get it, I get it. You're at that age where you think all these desserts will make you pudgy," The Hatter said before he puffed out his checks. They deflated before he continued, "Come now, Alice. With all the childish play we do. The Sweets wouldn't cause you to gain a pound of roly-poly." The Hatter laughed and smacked his knee before he added, "Or do you think you're too old for childish games? You're what: 13, 14?"

"16," Alice corrected without looking at the Hatter.

"Sweet Jiminy Christmas. You're almost an adult, but just because you're an adult don't mean you can't enjoy childish games. I mean I'm," the Hatter said before he began counting on his fingers before he added, "Let's just say old enough that I should be sick of these games, but here I am, loving every second of it." Alice winced at the thought of his childish games. They used to be childish, but now they became sadistic and horrible.

"You're sick," Alice mumbled. The Hatter cocked his head to Alice and gave her a quizzical look. Alice looked at him fully, tears beginning to swell in her eyes as she yelled, "You're Sick! You're not the Hatter I know, the Hatter I remember! Something's changed in you! It has to be the Queen, it just has to be!" The Hatter let out a disappointed sigh as he lowered his head. Alice felt as though the table was shrinking. She drew closer and closer to the Hatter Until it felt like a plank of wood was between the Hatter and Alice.

"Oh, Alice, sweet, lovable, stupid Alice," the Hatter said before he to laugh. It started out low, but grew and grew until the Hatter was cackling. He lifted his head and looked at Alice. Alice's eyes widened as her blood ran cold. His once brown eyes were completely black, black ooze began to seep from his skin as more leaked from his ears, corner of his eyes, and mouth. The Hatter stood up and grabbed the table before flinging it to the side while gurgling, "Let's play a game." The Hatter's arms suddenly lunged for Alice, his fingers twitching with anticipation.

Alice lept off her chair just before the Hatter's hands could reach her. The Hatter let out a distorted war cry before he grabbed the chair, lifted it high above his head, and slammed it to the ground. It shattered, sending splintered wood everywhere. Alice quickly took out the Knife in her pocket and turned to face the Hatter. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. His legs stretched to make him stand 15 feet tall and his arms hung on each of his sides. The black ooze was still seeping from his skin and as he smiled, more ooze poured from his mouth.

"Oh Alice," The hatter said. His voice was low, gravely, and sound like it was coming out of static. "I had hoped you'd play with me, not defy me." Alice was frozen in fear as the Hatter slowly drew in closer. Alice couldn't move. Her feet felt like they were rooted to the ground. The Hatter reached down and clamped his hands around Alice's throat. She gasped as the Hatter lifted Alice into the air. The sudden shock of Hatter's actions made Alice drop the knife and claw at the Hatter's hands. Every tear produced more black ooze. The Hatter brought Alice close to his face and she saw the twisted expression he wore. His mouth was curled into a sadistic crooked smile showing off his jagged, dagger-like teeth. His mouth opened slightly as his pus yellow tongue slithered out and licked Alice's check. He quivered at the taste of her fear.

"Oh Alice," the Hatter said as he licked his lips and added, "How I love the taste of your fear. it has always filled me with such ecstasy." The Hatter's hands slowly squeezed tighter around Alice's neck, causing her to gasp for air. Every gasp made the Hatter's smile grow.

Alice frantically clawed at the Hatter's hands as she felt her lungs burn for air. Her vision began to blur as she began to succumb to the darkness. She then felt Something lightly jabbed at her side and she weakly reached into her pocket. her hands felt the wooden handle of a Knife in her pocket. She quickly took out the large butcher's knife and slammed it into the Hatters right wrist. The blade cut cleanly through the Hatter's flesh and embedded into his bone. The Hatter let out a guttural scream and released Alice. She slammed to the ground back first and let out a gasp as all the air was sucked from her lungs. She wheezed and coughed as she lay on the ground trying to catch her breath. All the while, the Hatter was screaming, holding his wrist as black ooze sprayed from the open wound. Alice was able to slowly sit up and saw that the Hatter was shrinking as the ooze continued to spray. As the ooze began to slow, Alice saw the Hatter was now back to his normal form.

Alice quickly searched for something to defend herself and found the first knife she had dropped. Its pointed edge was pierced into the ground. She yanked the knife from the earth and charged towards the Hatter. Alice tackled the Hatter to the ground and the two rolled for several minutes before Alice was able to get on top of the Hatter. Alice quickly raised the knife over her head and rapidly stabbed the knife into his chest. She screamed loudly as she continued to jab, jab, and jab into the Hatter's chest. All the while the Hatter babbled, "Tea, TEA! Would you like some TEA, don't be late for tea, tea, TEA!" Alice lifted the knife one last time before plugging it deep into the Hatter's chest cavity. She felt gears chip at the sides of the knife before a fountain of black ooze exploded from his chest. Alice jumped off the Hatter as he convulsed and continued to babble, "Alice, tea, Alice, of with, Alice, why? Alice, Don't be late, TEA!"

After what felt like hours the Hatter fell still as the fountain black ooze started to slow. Alice sat there staring at the lifeless body of the Hatter. Tears began to slowly roll down her face before they fell freely and she began to sob. Why? Why was she crying? She did it! She finally stopped her oppressors. She didn't cry when she slid the knife through the Red Queen's neck. So why? Why was she crying at the loss of the Hatter? Why was she mourning him? Why was she so heartbroken he was gone? He did horrible things to her. So why was she crying for him? It's true she loved him, like a father. However, after every sadistic thing he did to her: why was she crying? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY!? She screamed at the top of her lungs as cried for her fallen friends.

Alice slowly opened her eyes and stared at her lime green ceiling. Her oddly shaped ceiling fan slowly spinning above her. She slowly sat up in her bed and looked around at her room. She did it. She was able to stop the torment of the Hatter and the Red Queen. It was finally over. All the hurt, all the pain. It was finally gone…forever. She felt tears slowly roll down her cheeks as she pulled her knees close to her chest. She never wanted to kill the Hatter, she wanted to save him. However, after seeing the twisted form the Hatter had changed into. She knew he couldn't be saved. She sobbed loudly as she remembered all the good times she had with the Hatter and her other friends.

There was a sudden loud banning that resonated all around her. It's them! Alice thought. They've come back. The Hatter and the Queen, They weren't dead. The banging continued, getting louder and louder and louder. Alice placed her hands over her ears and repeated, "Go away, go away, go away!" the banging was relentless and now muffled yelling was accompanying it. Alice began to rock back and forth as she started to sob. They were coming; they would do awful things to her. Make her suffer because of what she did, what she attempted. There was a loud boom and louder, muffled yells echoed all around her. She screamed, "Go away!" the sound of footsteps started towards her room as Alice rocked back and forth faster and faster as she sobbed loudly. The muffled voices and footsteps grew closer and Alice cried, "Mommy, Daddy. Help me."

Police report:

Officers were called to the home of Arthur and Martha Tully after neighbors heard screaming coming from their home. Once Officers reached the front door they knocked and announced their presence. Officers then reported hearing screams coming from inside the residence. They pounded harder on the door and requested to be let in. When there was no response, officers were forced to break down the front door. When officers entered the home, they heard someone yelling upstairs and rushed to the sound of screams. There, officers found Arthur and Martha Tully. Martha lay in a pool of her own blood with her throat slit while Arthur lay next to his wife with multiple stab wounds to his chest. a knife was still protruding from his chest.

Martha and Arthur's Daughter Alice was covered in her parent's blood and Rocking back and forth on the bed while mumbling about not wanting to go back, not wanting to be punished, and wanting the suffering to stop. Alice did not resist arrest as the Officers placed handcuffs on her. Once back at the precinct, the station's psychiatrist interview Alice and found she was unstable to stand trial. She is now being placed in Painted Rose Mental Hospital.

Alice sat in her patted room lying against the cushioned wall. She itched at the paper-thin blue dress she was given and sighed in relief. It was finally over. Her suffering was finally over and she could finally live her life without fear. Alice let out another sigh and closed her eyes. When she opened them slightly, she saw a figure at the end of her room. It was small but soon grew as though it was walking towards her. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh before she let sleep take her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she slowly opened her eyes. She looked up and her eyes widened in fear as she saw the Hatter standing over her. He wore a reassuring smile on his face and she relaxed as she saw his hat was once again stitched with colorful lather and he wore his colorful suit she loved so much

"Oh Alice," the Hatter cued before his appearance began to change: His suit was replaced with a black and white straitjacket with black and white striped sleeves. His pants lost all color and began to rip and his shoes began to decay as holes formed in the fabric. He took off his top hat and turned it inside out so now, instead of stitched leather. The hat was made of stitched flesh, with some yellowing with age while others still bled from the stitch work. His expression turned to anger before he reached behind him and produced a butcher's knife.

The Hatter lowered the knife so Alice could see her reflection in the blade. She saw wonderland behind her. It's once lush green hills now nothing but a barren wasteland with puddles of black ooze seeping out of the ground as the Red Queen sat upon a throne of bones, cackling while she moved her finger across her already torn neck. The Hatter lifted the blade above his head and scolded, "You're late for tea."


	8. live Out of these waters

Mary let out a relaxed sigh as she allowed the water to cradle her. She loved when her two boys spent the night at friends and her husband had his silly magic games with the guys. When everyone was out of the house, she could relax in the pool all by herself. Sure the pool was good for family barbeques, exercise, and getting the kids away from whatever Fortnite is. However, she loved just relaxing in the water letting it take her from one end of the pool to the other. Bubbles broke the surface next to her head, but she paid them no mind. She knew it was the lovable ladybug pool cleaner cleaning the bottom of the pool.

Another set of bubbles breached the surface and a thought popped into her mind: We should get a hot tub. She pictured a medium sized gazebo with glass walls and a glass ceiling. So she and her husband Tommy could sit in the bubbling water during cold winter nights and look out into the starry night sky. A smile formed on her face as she pictured the scene as the third round of bubbles broke the surface next to her head.

"Wow, it must have found a large patch of grime down there," Mary said to herself before adding, "I'll have to remind Tommy to get more chlorine the next time he goes out."

An arm suddenly came out of the water and wrapped around her neck before dragging her down. She let out a gasp before being submerged. Two legs wrapped around her waist as she sunk deeper into the pool. She began clawing at the arm wrapped around her but found no give as her fingers felt like they were digging through gelatin. Strands of yellow pus floated in the water around her as darkness began to creep in the corners of her eyes. She let out a gasp as water rushed into her throat and darkness fully took her.

Hours passed by before Mary finally came too. The world around her sounded muffled as she slowly opened her eyes. When she moved her arms, they felt heavy like a weight was strapped to each limb. When her vision finally cleared, she found she was lying on the floor of the pool. She sat up and gasped expecting water to rush into her throat, but she found she could breathe underwater. She got to her feet and kicked at the floor to ascend towards the surface.

When she breached the surface she looked around and found it was already morning. She turned to her house and saw Tommy at the bay window washing dishes. She quickly waved her arms and tried to call out to him. However, no sound came from her mouth. She saw him look out, but it seemed he didn't notice her as he went back to washing dishes. She quickly swam towards the edge of the pool. When she placed her hand outside the pool and onto the concrete, her arm was immediately engulfed in flames.

She screamed in pain and shock before she retracted her arm and submerged it into the water. She winced in pain before she examined her arm. She saw the flames had already charred her skin, but soon the skin began repairing itself. She looked back at the bay window and her eyes widened. A figure had stepped out of the shadows and stood next to her husband.

The figure was an anorexic woman with pail rotting flesh. Some parts of her flesh were rotted to the point it was showing bone. Atop her shoulders was a horse head with the same rotting flesh. Its right eye was missing and from its open eye socket leaked yellow pus while it's left eye had a white film over the pupal. Its bottom jaw was missing and in its place were two long spider fangs. Mary began splashing and waving trying to get Tommy's attention while she tried to yell, but once again no sound came from her mouth.

Tommy looked at the figure and seemed to laugh like it just told a joke. He then kissed the figure on the forehead as he did to Mary every morning. She felt her stomach churn as Mary began to dry heave. For several minutes the water rippled as she continued to dry heave. When she finally stopped convulsing she took long breaths. When the water stopped rippling her blood ran cold as she stared at the reflection in the water. Gone was the tall, tan redhead with freckles dotting her skin. The reflection staring back at her mirrored the figure standing next to Tommy.

She looked back up at the bay window to find the figure now hugging her two boys Andy and Benjamin. She had enough of this and suddenly lunged out of the pool. As soon as her bare feet touched the concrete her whole body was engulfed in flames. She let out a shrill scream as she stumbled and flailed her arms around as the flames began melting her skin. Her flesh peeled and turned red as she felt her right eye begin to melt in its socket. The water in the pool rose up in tendrils and shot towards Mary. They wrapped around her body and pulled her into the pool. The flames extinguished as the water began dragging her down towards the pool floor. Her skin began repairing its self as her right eye began to grow back. It was apparent she couldn't leave the pool.

When her eye fully grew back tears started to form in her eyes as she curled up into a ball and began to sob. She couldn't leave this watery purgatory. For the next couple of days, Mary simply saw her family interact with the figure like they didn't see or smell its rotting flesh. At times when she couldn't see her family, she simply floated in the water or swam around the pool to keep from being bored.

Every now and again she attempted to leave the pool only to be engulfed in flames. It was worse when her family swam in the pool. The water seemed to pull her towards the bottom and hold her against the floor as they swam. She couldn't reach out to touch or even get their attention. Her two boys who always dived down to see who could reach the bottom first. Never acknowledged or even shown they saw her there as she cried out to them. All she could do was watch as her family went on without her, as they spent their lives with that thing.

One day, when she woke up, she saw the tarp over the pool. She quickly swam towards the surface and tried to press the tar off the pool. She recoiled in pain as her hands felt as though they were pressed on a hot burner of a stove whenever she touched the tarp. She could no longer see her family. No longer see if they're safe with whatever that thing was. Her days were now filled with her swimming back and forth or simply lying face down in the water watching the ladybug pool cleaner putter around the pool bottom. Mary knew the seasons were changing and the pool would be forgotten until summer.

After several weeks of her normal routine of swimming and watching the pool cleaner. Mary noticed a small silver puddle at the bottom of the pool. She swam closer to it knowing it was never there since her imprisonment. She slowly reached out and touched the puddle. Her hand went through the puddle causing her to recoil. She examined her hand and found no pain, no burning skin. Was this a way out? Mary asked herself before she placed her hand into the silver puddle. She took a deep breath and crawled into the puddle.

She found herself still in the water and she let out a frustrated sigh. Then she noticed the bottom of the pool. It was different and she instantly knew where she was. Three years ago their neighbor, Adam decided to build a pool for his wife's birthday. He bought all the supplies and made her a massive pool. Since she loves Hello Kitty, he got pink pool tiles and arranged them at the bottom of the pool in the shape of the Hello Kitty logo. His pool was the inspiration for Tommy to build their own pool, but he wasn't the best at arranging tiles and wanted to arrange them in the form of a heart, but it came out looking like a pinecone.

Mary stared at the Hello Kitty logo at the bottom of the pool amazed that the silver puddle led her here. She then heard splashing and looked up to see Adam's wife Susan skinny dipping. She saw Susan swim back and forth several times before she laid on her back and stared up at the night sky. The water wasn't forcing her down towards the bottom. Instead, something was compelling her to swim up towards Susan. She felt her body slowly swim towards her as a voice not her own echoed in her mind: I want to be where the people are. I want to be part of their world.


End file.
